Google searches and AI chatbots have made gathering car information easy for everyday drivers. Many customers will go to auto repair shops, thinking they can accurately describe the problem after doing a couple of web searches. But sometimes it may not be entirely accurate or even totally wrong.
Houston, Texas mechanic @sk8andrevive says a customer brought in their Honda claiming the battery had melted. In a post about the situation, he’s clearly skeptical.
“Customer states the battery melted?” he says.
But when he opens the hood, he can’t believe what he finds. After 17 years in the industry, it was a first for him. The customer was actually right. The battery had melted.
“Da [expletive],” he says.
Taking a closer look, he initially believes that the hood latch popped out into the battery causing the battery to melt.
He wasn’t the only one shocked by the sight. Viewers couldn’t believe it either.
“I would not have believed you until you showed me proof,” one wrote.
“That’s a new one,” CarParts commented from its verified account.
“Mechanic here, that’s not supposed to look like that,” another said.
What Caused The Honda Battery To Melt?
One commenter on @sk8andrevive’s post asked the question on everyone’s mind: “How does one accomplish this?”
In a direct message sent to Motor1 via TikTok, the mechanic explained what happened. He said that it was actually caused by a common issue with older Hondas.
“They have a little plastic clip the hood prop rod rests in, they get broken…. a lot. Well instead of fixing it customers tend to just let the prop rod sit near the core support,” he said.
In this particular instance, the customer hit their brakes on the highway. Then their car shut off, and smoke poured out of the A/C vents. But the Honda started again and they continued home. Then the next morning, it wouldn’t start at all.
Upon hearing this description, he assumed he knew what had happened.
“My initial thought was the battery bounced into the hood,” @sk8andrevive said. “Man was I wrong.”
“So when they slammed on the brakes it caused the prop rod to slide into the battery and ‘lucky’ for them the positive terminal stopped its travel,” he continued. “The prop rod rotates in on a pivot in the body so positive terminal + grounded body = arc welder rod. The rod just melted down into the battery and that’s that.”
How Bad Was The Damage?
The mechanic assumed that the damage would be fairly substantial. He figured that the powertrain control module (PCM) and possibly some fuses and other parts were fried.
In the end, he replaced the battery, cable, and terminal end, and the Honda started without issue.
“The car honestly fired right up. No warning lights, no nothing. Pretty crazy and they got lucky that the whole car did not burn to the ground,” he says in his post.
Considering what could’ve gone wrong—RepairPal reports that a PCM alone costs roughly $1,100—his customer was extremely lucky.
“I believe it was maybe around $450 or so with parts and labor,” @sk8andrevive told Motor1.
As of this writing, his TikTok has generated over 4.8 million views. This turned out to be @ska8andrevive’s second surprise. “Never expected it to go viral,” he said.
How Can You Extend Your Car Battery’s Life?
AAA reports that car batteries typically last between three to five years, but can die sooner if not taken care of properly. To prolong your battery's life, it recommends doing the following:
- Turn off headlights when not needed: Leaving the headlights on can easily drain the battery. While newer cars have an “auto” feature to prevent this, older models need to be done manually.
- Have dome lights set to “door”: Interior lights can be set to only turn on when the car door is open. When manually turned on, it’s easy to forget to turn them off.
- Unplug unused accessories: Cars are filled with USB ports and more to support electronics. When wires are plugged into these ports, it’s still drawing energy from the battery.
- Drive the car at least once a week: If a car goes a long period without being started, the battery will die from inactivity. Ideally, a car should be driven at least 30 minutes once a week. This also preserves oil, as cold start combustion contaminants aren't collecting, and also helps keep seals lubricated.
- Do not only drive short trips: Every time a vehicle starts, the battery is put to work. Doing several short trips compared to longer drives is more taxing on the battery.
- Protect your battery from extreme cold and heat: A battery's chemistry gets impacted when sitting in the roasting sun or freezing cold. Parking somewhere climate controlled, such as a garage, can help prolong its life.
The ‘Customer States’ Trope
Trying to self-diagnose a vehicle can be challenging, particularly if you’re not an expert in automotives. This is why mechanics take “customer states” with a grain of salt. More often than not, it’s a customer believing outlandish things like their battery blew up or that the TPMS sensor is causing the battery to die.
That’s probably why “customer states” videos are so popular.
“‘Customer states’ is probably my favorite genre of content, it's always either ‘Well yeah, that makes sense’ or ‘No shit they're not wrong,’” one commented.
“Me at the beginning: ain’t no way the battery melted?? Me immediately after you opened the hood: well I’ll be damned,” another added.
“I love how many of these videos have the ‘customer states’ only for whatever strange sentence they put down to be 100% accurate and the only way to describe it. That's a melted battery, no other way to describe it,” a third commented.
But once in a while the customer is actually right. This mechanic’s customer said the battery melted and it in fact had melted.
“Sometimes the customer describes the issue accurately,” one person said.
@sk8andrevive Welp….after 17 years of doing this wrenching thing….this is a first… ticket said “customer slammed on brakes and car shut off and battery melted” I’m like wtf… after being initially shocked (no pun intended) I realized what had happened wuz….. . #texas #automotive #mechanic #customerstates ♬ original sound - BrutalSinkHTX
